The Grass Is Always Greener: Forage Varieties and Selection

Dr. Ann Blount, Forage Breeding and Genetics NFREC-Marianna and Quincy

Considerations for Variety Selection

1. North vs. South 2. Perennial vs. Annual 3. Soil Type 4. Class of Livestock 5. Your Management Style 6. Pest Considerations

1. North vs. South – Climate

Subtropical versus temperate species Temperature Rainfall (or irrigation) Photoperiod Vernalization

UF-Riata Argentine

Pensacola Tifton 9

Red Clover-photoperiod response Triticale-freeze tolerance and vernalization

Bahiagrass-photoperiod response

Examples

2. Perennial vs. Annual Forages Perennial

Bahiagrass Bermudagrass Stargrass Limpograss Perennial Peanut Fescue (????) (Short Term) Alfalfa White clover Carpon desmodium Stylosanthes

Annual Pearl Millet Sorghum Sorghum-Sudangrass Crabgrass Wheat Oat Rye Triticale Ryegrass Clover Vetch Medic Winter pea Lupine Aeschynomene

Forage Types

The Florida Forage System

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

sorghum, switchgrass, gamagrass

bahiagrass, bermudagrass, limpograss, stargrass

ryegrass, pea, clover

brassicas, rye, wheat, triticale

perennial peanut, soybean, aeschynomene, stylo

carpon, pearl millet, brown top millet and crabgrass

vetch

oat

3. Soil Type

4. Class of Livestock

Texting cows

5. Your Management Forage systems that fit your level of

operation and management style

6. Pest Considerations

Not Human Pests!

Insects Diseases Nematodes

Bermudagrass Stem Maggot

Gray leafspot on ryegrass

BYDV on Oat

Crown Rust on Oat

Take-all on Bahiagrass and Bermudagrass

Bahiagrass

Argentine, Pensacola, Tifton 9, TifQuik, UF-Riata and Sand Mountain

Bahiagrass Yield

Tons/acre

Pensacola 3.7

Argentine 3.2

Tifton 9 4.3

TifQuik 4.5

UF-Riata 4.7

Bahiagrass total season yield at the NFREC-Marianna

Bahiagrass entry Cool season yield lbs/A

Tifton 9 885

Pensacola 724 Argentine 504

Sand Mountain 945

UF-Riata 1404

Bahiagrass cool-season yield at the NFREC-Marianna

Pensacola - $2.25-2.50/lb Argentine - $3.20- 2.80/lb Tifton 9 - $4-5/lb certified TifQuik - $5.00/lb certified UF-Riata - $5.00/lb certified Seeding rate: 25 lbs/A

Bahiagrass

Origin of Pensacola bahiagrass Corrientes AR

Bermudagrass Patricio Munoz, new forage breeder

Coastal Tifton 85 Tifton 44 Russell Alicia Jiggs seeded types

• Coastal- oldest, 15 million acres • Coastcross I- hybrid between Coastal and a highly digestible bermudagrass

from Kenya. 12% more digestible than Coastal lacks winterhardiness • Tifton 85- 26% higher yielding than Coastal and 11% more digestible • Tifton 44- Coastal X German bermudagrass • Russell- similar appearance to Coastal, fast spreader • Alicia- easy to establish, lower quality, less digestible, rust susceptible, likes

wet sites • Jiggs- quick to establish, likes wet sites, rust susceptible

Bermudagrass Stem Maggot

Limpograss New hybrids of Big Alta X Floralta

Limpograss entry

Year

2012 2013

Tons/A 1 4.0 4.8

4F 5.2 5.7 10 5.7 5.1 32 4.1 3.5 34 4.1 2.5

Floralta 4.8 3.6

Native Florida Grasses NRCS: wiregrass, gamagrass, Paspalums

Experimental line “Florida Gama”

Perennial Peanut

Cultivar 5-year Average

Ton/A Ecoturf 3.7 UF-Tito 5.3

UF-Peace 5.0 Florigraze 4.7 Arbrook 6.1

Season total yield of perennial peanut, NFREC-Marianna

Perennial Peanut

Experimental perennial peanut lines

Perennial peanut establishment into pastures

Small Grains: Oats, Rye, Triticale and Ryegrass

On-Farm Trials

Variety selection and date of planting

The difference cultivar selection makes

The difference one month makes

FL0567 Oat

New crown rust resistant, early maturing winter oat for forage, silage and grain

FL01143 Awnless Triticale

for silage, grazing, and grain

Annual Ryegrass March May

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Ryegrass FL-MarOna Early 4X FL-MarOna Mid 4X

Cereal Rye FL404 4X

FL405 Early 2X FL406 Full Season 2X

2014 Regional Trials

Cool Season Legumes (new forage breeder)

Alfalfa

Bulldog 805, Bulldog 505 recent RR alfalfas

new Alfalfa breeding program

White Clover

Ocoee, Osceola, Barblanca, Durana Experimental “4-leaf” type

Red Clover Southern Belle and Red Ace (non-dormant) Barduro and Bulldog Red (mid dormant) Kenland and Redland II Experimental “2,4 D Resistant” Line

Ball, Berseem, Hop, Rose and Balansa clovers and Vetch, Winter Pea and Medic

Berseem Hop Rose

Vetch

Ball Clover in Jackson County

Crimson Clover Dixie AU-Sunrise (reselected) AU-Robin

Think of the possibilities!

A Walk On The Wild Side

forages for wildlife

2014 Field Days

Dairy On-Farm Field Days Milking R Dairy-Okeechobee County Shenanadoah Dairy-Suwannee County UF-Dairy Research Unit-Alachua County

Wildlife Food Plot Field Days

HAY…HAY…HAY! Perennial peanut field day June 7, 2014

Outcome and Impacts

Over 80% of southeastern publicly-developed varieties have been developed or co-developed by the UF-Forage Breeding Program

Forage Variety Testing http://agronomy.ifas.ufl.edu/ForagesofFlorida

http://www.georgiaforages.com/ http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/swvt/

Above all, be FLEXIBLE!

Questions?